South Sudan: Computer, communications and other services (% of commercial service exports)

Key figures

Over five years it is down 71.67 percentage points from 90.04% in 2018. Since 2014 it is down 13.62 percentage points from 31.98% in 2014.

What the numbers say

In 2023, South Sudan's computer, communications and other services (% of commercial service exports) fell 65.1 percentage points on 2022 (from 83.47% to 18.37%).

Across the 8 yearly changes before that (2015 to 2022), the average change was +6.44 percentage points and a typical year strayed about 15.88 percentage points from that (the standard deviation). This year's change was 4.5 standard deviations below that average, so it was unusually large compared with the rest of the record.

On record, the biggest yearly rise was 41.32 percentage points in 2017 and the biggest yearly fall was 65.1 percentage points in 2023. The numbers show how large and when, not why; for the cause, look at what happened in that country in those years.

From 2014 to 2023 there is no clear straight-line trend: a straight line explains 10% of the movement over 10 observed years, so the value is moving around more than it is heading anywhere.

Worked out from the yearly values above. How the checks work: standard deviation, z-scores and straight-line trends.

How it compares

In 2023, South Sudan had the 5th highest value of the 12 economies reporting that year. Higher is not always better: for some indicators the lowest value is the one to aim for. See the full ranking.

Closest to South Sudan in the 2023 ranking

• Senegal — 1st of 12: 32.22%
• Curaçao — 2nd of 12: 25.48%
• Lebanon — 3rd of 12: 18.45%
• Comoros — 5th of 12: 14.88%
• Guyana — 6th of 12: 12.71%
• Sint Maarten (Dutch part) — 7th of 12: 11.44%

What this measures

Computer, communications and other services include such activities as international telecommunications, and postal and courier services; computer data; news-related service transactions between residents and nonresidents; construction services; royalties and license fees; miscellaneous business, professional, and technical services; and personal, cultural, and recreational services. This indicator is expressed as a percentage of service exports which are commercial services provided by residents to non-residents.

Limitations: Balance of payments statistics, the main source of information on international trade in services, have many weaknesses. Disaggregation of important components may be limited and varies considerably across countries. There are inconsistencies in the methods used to report items. And the recording of major flows as net items is common (for example, insurance transactions are often recorded as premiums less claims). These factors contribute to a downward bias in the value of the service trade reported in the balance of payments. Efforts are being made to improve the coverage, quality, and consistency of these data.

Regional and income-group figures are computed by the World Bank as a weighted average.

All 10 values

Computer, communications and other services (% of commercial service exports) in nearby economies

• Angola — 63.3% (2025)
• Benin — 4.36% (2023)
• Botswana — 36.08% (2025)
• Burkina Faso — 40.79% (2024)
• Burundi — 72.28% (2025)
• Cabo Verde — 8.28% (2025)
• Cameroon — 47.31% (2024)
• Comoros — 14.88% (2023)

More private sector & trade data for South Sudan

• Merchandise imports from high-income economies (% of total merchandise imports) — 14.19% (2023)
• Merchandise imports from low- and middle-income economies outside region (% of total merchandise imports) — 20.96% (2023)
• Merchandise imports from low- and middle-income economies in East Asia & Pacific (% of total merchandise imports) — 13.37% (2023)
• Merchandise imports from low- and middle-income economies in South Asia (% of total merchandise imports) — 3.33% (2023)
• Merchandise imports from low- and middle-income economies in Sub-Saharan Africa (% of total merchandise imports) — 64.85% (2023)
• Merchandise imports by the reporting economy, residual (% of total merchandise imports) — 0% (2023)

Reading data like this

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• Real change or random noise? A plain guide to reading your numbers — 2 min read

Questions people ask

What is South Sudan's computer, communications and other services (% of commercial service exports)?

18.37% in 2023, according to the World Bank (World Development Indicators).

How has it changed since 2014?

It is down 13.62 percentage points from 31.98% in 2014. The highest value was 92.04% in 2019 and the lowest 18.37% in 2023.

How does South Sudan rank?

5th highest of 12 economies with data for 2023.

Is the latest change in computer, communications and other services (% of commercial service exports) unusual for South Sudan?

In 2023, South Sudan's computer, communications and other services (% of commercial service exports) fell 65.1 percentage points on 2022 (from 83.47% to 18.37%). Across the 8 yearly changes before that (2015 to 2022), the average change was +6.44 percentage points and a typical year strayed about 15.88 percentage points from that (the standard deviation). This year's change was 4.5 standard deviations below that average, so it was unusually large compared with the rest of the record.

Source

World Bank, World Development Indicators, indicator TX.VAL.OTHR.ZS.WT, licensed CC BY 4.0. Original source: Balance of Payments Statistics Yearbook and data files, International Monetary Fund (IMF) Figures are fetched from the World Bank API and refreshed monthly; see the series on data.worldbank.org. The full definition and method are in the World Bank's metadata glossary. Comparisons use the same World Bank release.

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